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Numerology 101

In my time running this blog, I haven’t seen a single post about numerology, maybe just because nobody knows it, or maybe because witches have a pathological fear of math. Either way, it’s a shame! The basics of numerology are painfully easy to grasp, and I would mark it down as one of the easiest divinitory systems I’ve tried to date. So let’s hit the basics!

We’ll jump right into it.

The Math

Actually, we need to work out the numbers we’re using first. While a person’s birthday is already very handily in a numeric form for you, their name is written up in pesky letters. But every letter has a corresponding numerological number, and by noting the number for each letter in a name, you’re able to calculate what you need.

Here’s a chart of the numbers, nice and easy and not necessary to memorize at all.

The numerological ‘alphabet’ if you will, only goes from the numbers 1-9. The letter ‘A’ marks 1, then J does again, then S. The more you work with numbers, the more you’ll come to just know what letters are associated with what, but even if you don’t, this chart is easy to replicate and even easier to find online.

The next part comes in writing out the numbers for a person’s name. You’ll want to keep this organized rather than messy, as  you’ll be using different parts of the numbers to calculate different things. I like to write out the names, then write the numbers for all the vowels above the name, then all the numbers for the consonants below the name. When you’ve done so, it should look something like this:

Some things to note:

Y is treated as a vowel when there are no other vowels in a syllable (Ex: Lynn, Carolyn)

W is treated as a vowel when preceded by a vowel and when it produces a single sound (Ex: Bradshaw, Matthew)

The birthday, again, is already in numeric format, so now all of your numbers just need to be added properly. Which brings us back to the scary part.

The Actual Math

Really, it’s nothing more than basic sums. If you can add, you can figure out your numbers. Hell, if you can’t add, you can have a calculator figure it out for you.

It is a little more involved than adding all the numbers you’ve so dutifully marked down and calling it a day, but let’s work through it first.

First, add all the numbers from the vowel section together. Then, add all the numbers from the consonant section together. If we go off the name I provided above, it should look something like this:

Congrats, the hardest bit of math is over!

“But Shay,” you say. “You said the numerological alphabet only consists of the numbers 1-9!”

And so I did. But I also said only the worst of the math was over. Next, we need to break down the numbers we got until they fall into that range. What you do for this is you take each numeral in the number and you add them together.

Let’s break it down. Looking at the vowel section, we’ve been left with the number 22. To get the numerological number, you take each numeral and add them together - here, that looks like 2 + 2 and leaves us with the number 4, perfectly within our range.

Our consonant number at the moment is 54, or 5 + 4, which adds up to 9. Again, in range. Should you get a number that’s still too big, keep breaking it down until it’s only one digit. For example, the number 98 becomes 17 (9 + 8), but then 17 becomes 8 (1 + 7) and is now within the acceptable range.

You’ve just calculated the Inner Dreams number and the Soul Urge number. And by adding those two together (and reducing as necessary) you will have the Destiny Path number. In this case, it’s 4 (The Soul Urge and Inner Dreams numbers 9 and 4 add up to 13, and 13 as 1 + 3 equals 4).

That’s three numbers down, one to go.

We’ve largely neglected the Life Path number, but all it really requires is the reduction method we just covered.

Take my birthday. April 27th, 1993, or in number terms, 04/27/1993. All you have to do is add all these numbers together, then once they’re nice and neat in one giant number, you simplify it as you learned. 04 + 27 + 1993 = 2024, which gives us a number to reduce. Even though it’s more than two digits, you handle it the same way. 2 + 0 + 2 + 4 adds up to 8, making a quick work of the reduction and giving us our Life Path number.

For you visual learners out there, it looks something like this:

Breaking it Down

So now, we have all four of our numbers! And with minimal tears shed. For the sake of having everything in one place, all of my numbers put together look something like this:

A number showing up more than once implies a strength of presence in that number - two or three times indicates that the traits associated with that number are strong, as do numbers that ‘resonate’, such as how 4 fits evenly into 8 or 3 fits evenly into 9. If there are too many repetitions of a number, expect to see more and more of the negative associations of those traits brought to light. Keep your eye out for these, as they will amplify one another.

Okay, but what does it all mean?

The Divination

There are four major numbers you go for when putting someone’s numbers together. The Life Path number, the Destiny Path number, the Soul Urge number, and the Inner Dreams number.

Life Path:

The life path number is the sum of the numbers in one’s birthday (date, month, and year). It relates to the path in life one will take and the traits one has at birth.

Destiny Path:

The destiny path number is the sum of all letters in one’s full name. It relates to the tasks one was meant to achieve in their lifetime.

Soul Urge:

The soul urge number is the sum of all vowels in a person’s name. It represents a person’s inner cravings, their likes and dislikes, and what they value most.

Inner Dreams:

The inner dreams number is the sum of all consonants in a person’s name. It represents secret dreams, inner desires, and fantasies.

And lastly, the meaning of the numbers themselves. This post is already long enough to the point where I’m not going to write up a paragraph about each and every number (they are all available and more if you look them up online), but I’ll give you a run-down for each.

1:

Positive Traits: Initiator, pioneering spirit, inventive ideas, strong leadership skills, independent Negative Traits: Overly assertive, aggressive, domineering, impulsive, egotistic, boastful

2:

Positive Traits: Cooperative, adaptable, considerate of others, sensitive, diplomatic, modest Negative Traits: Shy, timid, fearful, drowns in the details, easily depressed

3:

Positive Traits:

Self-expressive, inspired, happy, fun-loving, keen imagination

Negative Traits:

Scattered energies, self-centeredness, unfinished projects, lack of direction

4:

Positive Traits: Strong sense of order, highly practical, steady growth, fine management skills Negative Traits: Lack of imagination, stubborn, fixed opinions, argumentative, slow to act

5:

Positive Traits: Expansiveness, new visionary ideas, quick thinking, versatile, resourceful Negative Traits: Restless, discontent, edgy temperament, dissatisfaction, overhasty, impatient

6:

Positive Traits: Responsible, artistic, nurturing, community-oriented, balanced, sympathetic Negative Traits: Self-righteous, obstinate, stubborn, meddlesome, egotistical, dominating

7:

Positive Traits: Methodical, analytical, intelligent, scientific, studious, solitary, perfectionist Negative Traits: Hidden motives, suspicious, overly reserved, isolated, inflexible

8:

Positive Traits: Good leader, strong sense of direction, sound judgement, decisive, commanding Negative Traits: Overly ambitious, oppressive, impatient, stressed, materialistic

9:

Positive Traits: Hearty friendliness, humanitarian instincts, giving, selfless, creative Negative Traits: Self-adulation, scattered interests, possessiveness, moodiness, carelessness 

So there you have it! Put the numbers you calculated to their associated meanings and work it out in your head, just like with tarot or other divinatory practices.

Just a few parting comments before I end this post.

In Summation

This is the setup for a slightly above basic numerological reading. The most basic that I ever use involves taking just the Life Path and Destiny path numbers. To take an even more complex spread, you could break down the person’s full name by each individual name, analyzing the vowels, consonants, and overall number for the first, middle, and last name individually, so that you can study what builds a person up into their full name and their path numbers. This gets very extensive very fast, and even with just the four above, you may end up doing three numbers per name plus the Life Path number. For your standard 3-name schema, this would involve ten numbers. Still manageable, but quite a lot.

On the topic of nicknames: generally, the rule in numerology is that you should use the name a person has held the longest. For example, Shay isn’t my birth name, but I’ve been called Shay for just over half of my lifetime. This is a good guideline, but please consider it only as a guideline. If someone has a name they do not wish to be called, respect them, and analyze the name they give you instead. An interesting thing to do - if the subject is comfortable - is to compare the birth name with the chosen name numerologically, and they can comment on advances that you have made through your life.

This is all I can think of at the moment! Go forth and numerolocize!

Lastly, I put together a blank template so you can practice on your own :D